Dr Z Carmen Ghia - am I missing the point? (bit of a ramble)
Tim Hacker
Leicester is rare (in my experience) in that it's big, clean, has great
rooms, has top quality gear - more in a minute - and is run by top
chaps.
So I wandered in last Wednesday evening and there was a new amp for me
to plug in to. A Dr Z Carmen Ghia complete with the 1 x 12 'Best Cab'
(as the manufacturers describe it I think) plus Train Wreck power soak.
All up, about £1600-£1700. I was surprised but delighted to be able
to trial such stuff in a proper rehearsal situation - and at sensible
volume levels.
Well, I messed around with it for a good half an hour (it has one
volume and one wide-ranging tone control). Plugged in with no fx then
with a couple of pedals. Turned it all the way up - 18 watts class A,
so eardrums still intact, but very loud. And I don't get it - unless,
of course, that it is designed as a one trick pony. And it could be
that the one trick isn't for me - I could perhaps be persuaded that
this is the case.
It wasn't a terrible amp by any means, but I couldn't hear the value.
Maybe it's the law of diminishing returns, but it just didn't sound
anything like as good as any of my very much cheaper valve amps. It
was very mid-biased and to my ears brash. Yes, it would cut through
the mix, but not in a particularly nice way. So, how does one
rationalise the cost of a beautifully assembled, but not-so-astounding
sounding amp? (I don't think that this was a bad example).
I'm just pleased that the studio I use allows me to play with this sort
of gear. They have also taken delivery of a couple of Cornford and
Soldano combos - can't wait to try them.
So that's it - finished musing. If anyone has experiences of the Dr Z
Carman Ghia, I love to hear. And if I have missed the point then so be
it - I'll give it another go.
Cheers
Tim
Chris Bolus
wrote:
>
>I'm just pleased that the studio I use allows me to play with this sort
>of gear. They have also taken delivery of a couple of Cornford and
>Soldano combos - can't wait to try them.
>
Wot no Tipton? They don't know what they're missing!
--
Chris Bolus (change o to zero to reply by email)
I love cheap guitars, me. But I'm learning to appreciate expensive ones!
andrew_s
Tim Hacker wrote:
> I'm pretty lucky in that the rehearsal/recording studio we use here in
> Leicester is rare (in my experience) in that it's big, clean, has great
> rooms, has top quality gear - more in a minute - and is run by top
> chaps.
>
> So I wandered in last Wednesday evening and there was a new amp for me
> to plug in to. A Dr Z Carmen Ghia complete with the 1 x 12 'Best Cab'
> (as the manufacturers describe it I think) plus Train Wreck power soak.
>
[snip]
> So that's it - finished musing. If anyone has experiences of the Dr Z
> Carman Ghia, I love to hear. And if I have missed the point then so be
> it - I'll give it another go.
>
> Cheers
>
> Tim
you are a lucky man indeed! The rehearsal stuidos I've been in only
have old semi-borked gear. I've never tried a Dr Z set up, but I have
heard one being used "in anger" quite a few times. Buddy Whittington,
John Mayall's Bluesbreakers guitarist, has been using Dr Z gear on the
last few tours. If it is a one trick pony, then in the hands of BW and
his Strat, it certainly makes for a great bluesey trick.
I'd love to try one...........
<colour me green>
andrew_s
robert.m...@telspec.co.uk
of those "how far there is to travel moments"
when I saw him in Tunbridge Wells - sigh.
Then he was using a Dr Z Route 66 amp which is a different beast
altogether driving a 2 * 12 Dr Z cabinet.
The only commonality between these two amps is (i think) the use of an
EF86 pentode as the first (only)
pre-amp valve instead of the all prevading ECC83 double triode.
The RT66 has separate treble & bass controls and KT66 output valves
instead of EL84 (again I think) on the Gia.
Would be interesting to try the Gia with another speaker cabinet - if
you can let us know what you find.
Robert
Tim Hacker
12 (birch ply) cab in on Wednesday evening so I may get to try it
again, assuming we have the same room, that is.
My guess is that it'll smooth out the bottom end somewhat.
I can see the appeal of the amp for 'rootsier' music, let me say, it's
just that it appears to me to be a bit limited in respect of other
genres. I'm no high gain addict, indeed our set includes some nice
country-esque material where I thought the Carmen Ghia might real shine
through. In fact, it seemed lacking in sparkle - plenty of bite, but
no sparkle, something that my Laney class-A AC30-alike does very
nicely.
For all this, it's great fun trying out some of this esoterica at
volume!
Cheers
Tim
Jon Garner
wrote:
Delurking.......
Tim......The studios you are talking about are owned by the guy that plays
drums in the band I play in. As you say, Quad Studios is a rare beast in
that its nice, clean, dry and has modern and good quility gear.
If you want to try the Carmen Ghia through your 1936, just give Bob
(owner) a ring at the studio and ask that the amp is in the room for your
next rehearsal. He's a top bloke and I'm sure he will accomodate.
Personally I've played that amp on numerous sessions and found that with
my Les Paul it sounds great, not quite so with my Strat. Guess its just
presonal taste.
I'd not say its a one trick pony, they key to it is to use your guitar
volume control and try changing the settings on the Train Wreck. Maybe
you'll like it, maybe you won't....its all down to what makes a good
guitar sound and that is very very subjective.......if not there is always
the Soldano, the Cornford, the numerous Marshall amps of differing
flavours..........;-)
Cheers
Jono
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Tim Hacker
What I might do is bring my Heritage 535 along and plug that in.
I still can't believe the Quad set up - I used to think Rich Bitch in
Birmingham was good (where I used to go when I lived in Solihull), but
Quad is in a completely different league.
And Bob and the chaps recorded our drummer for our new demo CD the
other week, with guide guitar and vocal etc. My amps had a studio all
of their own! In fact I've often thought that it would be a great
place to throw a party using the stage in the reception area - I'll
have to think of an excuse :-)
Cheers
Tim
Steve Dix
wrote:
>...good call. I'll give him a bell and see where we'll be playing.
>What I might do is bring my Heritage 535 along and plug that in.
>
>I still can't believe the Quad set up - I used to think Rich Bitch in
>Birmingham was good (where I used to go when I lived in Solihull), but
>Quad is in a completely different league.
>
I used to go to Rich Bitch as well. Bit of a way round from Solihull,
though.
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